Dario Saric Might Not Join The Sixers In 2016 Due To Them Drafting Ben Simmons, Says A Report

Here’s a story from The Morning Call that makes a lot of sense and no sense at the same time. Because the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Ben Simmons, it seems that Dario Saric may choose to play a third season in Turkey before coming to the NBA.

A source told The Morning Call that Saric, the 12th pick in the 2014 Draft, wants to stay overseas, so when he comes to the NBA, he won’t be subject to the league’s rookie scale contracts. And while Saric originally said he was ready to come to the 76ers next season, the team taking Simmons, who is also power forward, has deterred him because he doesn’t want to be a backup.

“He makes 1.5 million Euros [$1.66 million U.S.] playing in Turkey,” said the source Thursday night. “It’s a comfortable living. Why come over and risk that and go back to the rookie-scale contract when you’ve completed two-thirds of not having to be on the rookie scale? This is before the draft.”

If the 22-year-old Saric joins the Sixers this year, he’d be due $9 million over the next four seasons based on being the No. 12 overall pick (in the 2014 draft). If he plays a third season in Turkey, he wouldn’t be subject to the rookie scale and would probably make more than twice that amount.

Money talks…Not a fan of drafting international players for this reason…they get treated better than college players without having to prove anything, then he gets to just make money as a pro comfortable and American players are forced into a college system or penalized for doing differently. More to players need to go play pro like Brandon Jennings or Muidiay…make your money ASAP because the NBA has shown they look down on college guys especially the longer they stay in school.